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1 KINGS 13

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

1. First paragraph
2. Second paragraph
3. Etc.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 13:1-10
  ¹Now behold, there came a man of God from Judah to Bethel by the word of the Lord, while Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense. ²He cried against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, "O altar, altar, thus says the Lord, 'Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.'" ³Then he gave a sign the same day, saying, "This is the sign which the Lord has spoken, 'Behold, the altar shall be split apart and the ashes which are on it shall be poured out.'" ⁴Now when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, "Seize him." But his hand which he stretched out against him dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself. ⁵The altar also was split apart and the ashes were poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord. ⁶The king said to the man of God, "Please entreat the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me." So the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king's hand was restored to him, and it became as it was before. ⁷Then the king said to the man of God, "Come home with me and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward." ⁸But the man of God said to the king, "If you were to give me half your house I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place. ⁹For so it was commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, 'You shall eat no bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way which you came.'" ¹⁰So he went another way and did not return by the way which he came to Bethel.

13:1 "a man of God from Judah" There seems to be a contrast between

1. man of God (see note at 1 Kgs. 12:22)
2. prophet of Bethel (lit. Nabi, v. 11)

SPECIAL TOPIC: PROPHET (the different Hebrew terms)

This chapter in symbols shows

1. the superiority of Judah
2. the necessity of obedience to the word of God
3. God's knowledge of and control of history
   1. long term prophecy (vv. 2-3)
   2. short term prophecy/sign (vv. 4-6)

Josephus (Antiq. 8.9.1.) names him Yadon, but we do not know his source of this information. There are several other unnamed prophets.

1. Judges 6:8
2. 1 Kings 20:13,22
3. 2 Kings 9:1

▣ "while Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense" This implies the king offering sacrifices (cf. 1 Kgs. 12:33). This verb "burn" (BDB 882, KB 1094, Hiphil INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT) can refer to

1. incense (Peshitta)
2. sacrifices (LXX)

13:2 "O altar, altar" This is a personification of the altar of sacrifice at Bethel's new temple.

▣ "by the word of the Lord" This phrase (or "the word of God," 1 Kgs. 12:22; 13:1) appears several times in this context. It is the key theological issue (cf. 2 Kgs. 12:24; 13:2,5,9,17,18,20,26 [twice], 32). In v. 11 a parallel phrase, "the words," refers to the message from YHWH.

▣ "Josiah" This was a much later king of Judah. The specificity is shocking (like Isa. 44:28; 45:1; about Cyrus). For some scholars this shows a later editor, but for others, like me, an evidence of God's knowledge and control of history. Predictive Prophecy is the strongest evidence for an inspired Bible. See Gleason Archer, Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, pp. 270-271.

SPECIAL TOPIC: KINGS OF THE DIVIDED MONARCHY

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE BIBLE (its uniqueness and inspiration)

▣ "shall sacrifice the priests of the high places" This is fulfilled in 2 Kgs. 23:15-16.This long term prophecy (v. 2) was not for the people who heard the man of God, but for the covenant people. Unity would come (cf. 1 Kgs. 12:26).

13:3 "a sign" There were two signs.

1. Jeroboam's hand (v. 4)
2. the altar split open (v. 3)

See NIDOTTE, vol. 2, pp. 879-881 and SPECIAL TOPIC: SIGN, II.

▣ "the altar shall be split apart" This was symbolic of YHWH's judgment on the sacrifices and incense offered Him on this altar, as well as Jeroboam being the one offering from time to time.

13:4 "Seize him" This was a command from Jeroboam, given in the midst of his sacrifice. It was an act of defiance to God's word of judgment.

▣ "his hand. . .dried up" Jeroboam stretched out his hand against YHWH's spokesperson and YHWH caused it to "dry up" (BDB 386, KB 384, Qal IMPERFECT with waw). The immediate confirmation of God's knowledge and power resulted in Jeroboam unable to draw back his hand.

The purpose was two fold.

1. to show the validity of the long term prediction
2. to give Jeroboam a chance to repent (v. 6)

13:6 What an amazing short term confirmation and an act of mercy! After such a powerful display of YHWH's power, Jeroboam still would not repent (vv. 11-34). His sin is all the more serious in light of YHWH's predictions and mercy act!

13:8 This is an emphatic rejection of fellowship with Bethel and Jeroboam's kingdom. God's message to the man of God was very specific. This highlights the tragedy of vv. 26-32.

Jeroboam sinned in the presence of great light and was judged (and restored). The man of God was tricked (v. 18) but disobeying God's word had consequences! God is no respecter of persons (i.e., Moses' judgment).

13:10 Apparently the man of God recognized there would be a reaction to his prophecy.

1. by Jeroboam
2. by the priests of Bethel
3. by persons of the northern ten tribes

He is surprised and betrayed by one of his own, a prophet.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 13:11-19
  ¹¹Now an old prophet was living in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the deeds which the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words which he had spoken to the king, these also they related to their father. ¹²Their father said to them, "Which way did he go?" Now his sons had seen the way which the man of God who came from Judah had gone. ¹³Then he said to his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." So they saddled the donkey for him and he rode away on it. ¹⁴So he went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak; and he said to him, "Are you the man of God who came from Judah?" And he said, "I am." ¹⁵Then he said to him, "Come home with me and eat bread." ¹⁶He said, "I cannot return with you, nor go with you, nor will I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. ¹⁷For a command came to me by the word of the Lord, 'You shall eat no bread, nor drink water there; do not return by going the way which you came.'" ¹⁸He said to him, "I also am a prophet like you, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, 'Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.'" But he lied to him. ¹⁹So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house and drank water.

13:11 "an old prophet" One wonders if he was part of Jeroboam's new altars or a prophet before the split. This man is problematic.

He seems to be

1. a glory seeker
2. a liar
3. but also he fears YHWH (vv. 30-33)

13:12 "his sons" The MT has the SINGULAR but the LXX and Peshitta have the PLURAL, which seems to fit v. 13. The UBS Text Project, p. 321, gives the MT a "B" rating (some doubt) and suggests a translation "one of his sons" as a compromise.

13:18 Notice how the old prophet tricked the man of God by saying

1. I too am a prophet like you (v. 20)
2. an angel spoke to me

Both then and now, God's people cannot accept a message from someone who claims to be a follower of God, nor accept a spiritual message second hand. We must be true to what revelation (i.e., Scripture) says. Be careful of so called "prophets." If the message contradicts what Scripture says, it is a false revelation (i.e., Gal. 1:8).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 13:20-25
  ²⁰Now it came about, as they were sitting down at the table, that the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back; ²¹and he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, "Thus says the Lord, 'Because you have disobeyed the command of the Lord, and have not observed the commandment which the Lord your God commanded you, ²²but have returned and eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which He said to you, "Eat no bread and drink no water"; your body shall not come to the grave of your fathers.'" ²³It came about after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for him, for the prophet whom he had brought back. ²⁴Now when he had gone, a lion met him on the way and killed him, and his body was thrown on the road, with the donkey standing beside it; the lion also was standing beside the body. ²⁵And behold, men passed by and saw the body thrown on the road, and the lion standing beside the body; so they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived.

13:24 "a lion" See SPECIAL TOPIC: LIONS.

▣ "the lion also was standing" This is another supernatural event. The lion killed the man but did not eat the body. Also, the lion did not attack the donkey. This would not have been missed by the old prophet.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 13:26-32
  ²⁶Now when the prophet who brought him back from the way heard it, he said, "It is the man of God, who disobeyed the command of the Lord; therefore the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke to him." ²⁷Then he spoke to his sons, saying, "Saddle the donkey for me." And they saddled it. ²⁸He went and found his body thrown on the road with the donkey and the lion standing beside the body; the lion had not eaten the body nor torn the donkey. ²⁹So the prophet took up the body of the man of God and laid it on the donkey and brought it back, and he came to the city of the old prophet to mourn and to bury him. ³⁰He laid his body in his own grave, and they mourned over him, saying, "Alas, my brother!" ³¹After he had buried him, he spoke to his sons, saying, "When I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. ³²For the thing shall surely come to pass which he cried by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria."

13:32 "shall surely come to pass" This is an intensified grammatical form (i.e., an INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE and an IMPERFECT VERB from the same root, BDB 224, 243).

▣ "all the houses of the high places" See full note at 1 Kgs. 12:31.

▣ "Samaria" This was not the capital until the reign of Omri (i.e., 1 Kgs. 16:24). This reference shows a later editor.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 13:33-34
  ³³After this event Jeroboam did not return from his evil way, but again he made priests of the high places from among all the people; any who would, he ordained, to be priests of the high places. ³⁴This event became sin to the house of Jeroboam, even to blot it out and destroy it from off the face of the earth.

13:33 In the presence of great light (i.e., the sign), Jeroboam refused to repent. This is, in essence, what "the sin unto death" and "the unpardonable sin" of the NT represent.

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE UNPARDONABLE SIN

SPECIAL TOPIC: THE SIN UNTO DEATH

13:34 What was Jeroboam's great sin?

1. building the rival temples (1 Kgs. 12:30)
2. appointing non-Levitical priests
3. not repenting in light of YHWH's sign
4. causing Judah to sin in a like manner (cf. 2 Kgs. 17:19-23)

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

1. What is the difference between "a man of God" and a prophet?
2. Why is the mentioning of Josiah so surprising and wonderful?
3. Why was Jeroboam's sin so horrible?
4. Why did YHWH give Jeroboam a sign?
5. Why does this chapter repeat the phrase "the word of the Lord" so often?

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